Com. v. Kelley, A.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided January 24, 2023·No. 271 MDA 2022·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

AUSTIN TEXAS HOUSTON KELLEY :

:

Appellant : No. 271 MDA 2022

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered January 20, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-21-CR-0003462-2018

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., McLAUGHLIN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.* MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.: FILED JANUARY 24, 2023 Austin Texas Houston Kelley appeals from the judgment of sentence entered following his convictions for three counts of unlawful contact with a minor; two counts each of indecent assault, criminal solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault, and criminal trespass; and one count each of burglary, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, and statutory sexual assault.1 Kelley argues the trial court erred in denying his motion to sever, permitting the Commonwealth to present expert testimony on the dynamics of sexual violence, and determining that he was a sexually violent predator (“SVP”). We affirm.

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

118 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6318(a)(1), 3126(a)(8), 902(a), 3503(a)(11), 3502(a)(i), 3123(a)(7), 3125(a)(8), 3122.1(a)(1), respectively.

The Commonwealth filed one Information, listing charges related to three victims. On August 27, 2019, the parties informed the court that the case was ready for trial, and the court scheduled trial for September 9, 2019. On August 27, the Commonwealth indicated to Kelley’s counsel that she would seek to introduce expert testimony. Omnibus Pre-Trial Motion, filed Sept. 5, 2019, at ¶ 10. The following day, August 28, 2019, the Commonwealth provided written notice of its intent to present expert testimony on “generalities with regard to sexual offender/predator behaviors.” Motion to Continue Pretrial/Trial, filed Sept. 4, 2019, at Exh. A. The Commonwealth stated in the written notice that it was late because the parties had been working toward a plea agreement and, therefore, “there [had been] no need to pursue the retention of an expert.” Id. The Commonwealth attached to the notice a copy of the expert’s curriculum vitae and stated it would forward a report when it received one. Id. Kelley filed an unopposed motion to continue, which was granted.2 In September 2019, Kelley filed an omnibus pre-trial motion, which he later amended. The omnibus motion included, among other things, a motion to sever and a motion to preclude the expert testimony.

2Trial originally was rescheduled for November 2019, but, following additional continuances, did not occur until October 2020.

The parties submitted briefs regarding the motion to sever. The trial court summarized the alleged facts from the hearing on the pretrial motion to sever as follows:

[I]n August 2016, [Kelley] met M.M. at the Midway Skating Rink when she was approximately 14 years old. He then communicated with her via social media, utilizing the screen name “Superman100” on Facebook, and referring to himself as a “superhero.” On February 9, 2017, [Kelley] went to M.M.’s house, and entered through her bedroom window;

he did not have her parents’ permission to be in the home.

While M.M. denies any sexual contact between her and [Kelley], her father did see [Kelly] in M.M’s bed.

[Kelley] also met 15-year-old K.W. at the Midway Skating Rink in August of 2016, following which he communicated with her as “Superman.” Around the same time period, [Kelley] met 14-year-old S.B. at the Midway Skating Rink, and began an ongoing sexual relationship with her, which lasted for approximately eight months.

On one particular occasion, March 12, 2017, [Kelley]

climbed in the window of S.B.’s bedroom, while K.W. was visiting S.B. [Kelley] was watching a movie on S.B.’s bed with the two girls, when he attempted to kiss K.W., saying he was a superhero and would “save her.” He touched her butt and breasts, and put his hands and mouth on her vagina; K.W. became very uncomfortable and moved to the floor. [Kelley] and S.B. then engaged in sexual conduct on S.B.’s bed.[1]

1Since his arrest, [Kelley] and S.B. have continued to correspond in writing, with [Kelley] continuing to utilize his “superhero” persona.

Trial Court Opinion, filed Oct. 7, 2020, at 1-2.

The trial court denied the motion to sever. It found the Commonwealth had demonstrated the existence of a common scheme, plan, or design, the evidence would support a finding of Kelley’s intent, and the jury would be

capable of avoiding confusion. It also found the consolidation would not unduly prejudice Kelley. Id. at 4-5.

In the motion to preclude the expert testimony, Kelley claimed, among other things, that the Commonwealth provided its notice of expert testimony late, which hindered his ability to respond to the testimony. He also argued that the proposed basis of the testimony was “likely to be confusing, vague, and [was] not opinion testimony relevant to the facts of [the] case.” Amended Omnibus Pre-Trial Motion, filed Nov. 7, 2019, at ¶ 11. At the hearing, Kelley again argued the testimony was not relevant and would be confusing to the jury. N.T., Oct. 14, 2020, at 24. The Commonwealth asserted it informed Kelley of its intention to present expert testimony after defense counsel certified the case for trial, stating that the late notice was due to the Commonwealth’s impression the case would be resolved by plea agreement.

The trial court summarized the testimony from the hearing on the expert testimony as follows:

At a hearing on the expert witness issue, testimony was received from the Commonwealth’s proposed expert, Matthew Shollenberger, Ph.D., P.C., and two Commonwealth exhibits were admitted in the form of his curriculum vitae and his report.

Dr. Shollenberger testified that he was a sex offender counselor, with a Ph.D. in counseling, who had been working with sex offenders for 25 years, had been approved as a provider by Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board since 2002, and had presented expert testimony in court hundreds of times. The gist of his opinions of pertinence to the present case was contained in a report dated September 17, 2019:

This letter is a very brief summary of sexual offenders’

characteristics based on over 25 years of education and experience: Sexual exploit is about control, and overwhelmingly statically [sic] the sexual exploiter is a biological male. Most sexual offenders have multiple victims, sometimes dozens, due to the secrecy of the crime and the reluctance for victims to come foreword [sic], hence encouraging the sexual predator to believe he has gotten away with the crime(s). Sexual predators will most likely tell their victims to remain secretive about the sexual abuse and/or threaten them with retaliation should they tell. The large majority of victims are not strangers; sexual predators get to know their victims (as quickly as possible) in order to assess vulnerability and establish trust. The sexual predator may use special favors like excessive attention, praise, favoritism, or gifts to establish trust. They use the trust that has been established as a control mechanism, exploiting the victims' feelings of guilt, loyalty, or dependency.

Adolescents who have special needs, are having identity issues, feeling unloved, or having peer issues are vulnerable to the attention of a sexual predator.

Many times, pedophiles in particular do not relate to peers their own age; they do not think or feel like a responsible adult, and they “fit in” with younger peers.

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Com. v. Kelley, A., (Pa. Ct. App. 2023).

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